Portable AC + Exhaust and Intake fans

sf_frankie said:
Yeah this is my first run and that's become exceedingly clear. I keep waking up in the middle of the night with new ideas. I've been "done" like 6 times now. I'm still way under budget at the moment so it's not a huge deal yet
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oh trust me, all of us with experience know exactly what you are talking about.
 
If your handy at all look at some videos of building boxes around window AC and using fans to make them like a portable where you can vent out through hoses. Best way to try and run sealed without a mini split and window AC units are much closer to to what they are rated than than portable units. I had to run a portable on a hit day recently and it def put out a good bit of smell. My mini split should be here Tuesday so hopefully I can get that done and working asap. I don't know if your using that whole room but if so might be worth it to just get a mini split if going sealed.
 
Apalchen said:
If your handy at all look at some videos of building boxes around window AC and using fans to make them like a portable where you can vent out through hoses. Best way to try and run sealed without a mini split and window AC units are much closer to to what they are rated than than portable units. I had to run a portable on a hit day recently and it def put out a good bit of smell. My mini split should be here Tuesday so hopefully I can get that done and working asap. I don't know if your using that whole room but if so might be worth it to just get a mini split if going sealed.
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I’m quite handy, I’ll look into that. I actually have an old window unit from the 70s in my livingroom. That thing kicks ass and is still running strong decades later. It’s hideous but it works so well that we’ve never upgraded. It probably uses some cancer causing ozone killing refrigerant that’s been banned for the last 20 years. I could move it to the grow room and modify then put my portable in the house.

if I run an over sized scrubber do you think the AC would still push odor out the exhaust?
 
Have you tried running lights on at night? I had a 8000 single hose portable to cool my walk up attic with a 4x4 tent in it. That AC ran constantly and just kept temps in range for flower. I moved up to a whynter arc-14s dual hose and the difference was amazing. Plenty of cooling power with exhaust pulling air out the ridge vent on the roof. That machine cost me $400+ though.
 
sf_frankie said:
I’m quite handy, I’ll look into that. I actually have an old window unit from the 70s in my livingroom. That thing kicks ass and is still running strong decades later. It’s hideous but it works so well that we’ve never upgraded. It probably uses some cancer causing ozone killing refrigerant that’s been banned for the last 20 years. I could move it to the grow room and modify then put my portable in the house.

if I run an over sized scrubber do you think the AC would still push odor out the exhaust?
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Probably a bit yeah. Even the largest of scrubbers moving crazy air you will still smell weed in your grow room so any air that escapes outside is going to smell like the grow room. That being said, is it that big of a deal?
 
SheeshM said:
Have you tried running lights on at night? I had a 8000 single hose portable to cool my walk up attic with a 4x4 tent in it. That AC ran constantly and just kept temps in range for flower. I moved up to a whynter arc-14s dual hose and the difference was amazing. Plenty of cooling power with exhaust pulling air out the ridge vent on the roof. That machine cost me $400+ though.
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Lights off right now is 7pm-1am. I run LED bar lights that don’t really create a lot of heat. Seems to me like the AC isn’t working due to ventilation. Like someone else said, it’s like running central air in the house with all the doors and windows open. I’ve got a pretty powerful exhaust fan so it’s just sucking all the cool air out.
 
JoeBlow5823 said:
Probably a bit yeah. Even the largest of scrubbers moving crazy air you will still smell weed in your grow room so any air that escapes outside is going to smell like the grow room. That being said, is it that big of a deal?
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Legally, it’s not a big deal. I’m in a legal state plus I have a medical rec that allows more than just a few plants. It’s more a courtesy to my neighbors and To keep scum bags away. Pot pirates are still a worry unfortunately.
 
sf_frankie said:
Legally, it’s not a big deal. I’m in a legal state plus I have a medical rec that allows more than just a few plants. It’s more a courtesy to my neighbors and To keep scum bags away. Pot pirates are still a worry unfortunately.
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Yeah i hear that, just saying if you have just a weee little bit of smell leaking out its not usually a big deal unless you live in an illegal state. Especially if the smell is coming out up high so people cant put their nose to a vent and be sure its coming from the building, could just be catching a whiff from a plot a quarter mile away.
 
JoeBlow5823 said:
Yeah i hear that, just saying if you have just a weee little bit of smell leaking out its not usually a big deal unless you live in an illegal state. Especially if the smell is coming out up high so people cant put their nose to a vent and be sure its coming from the building, could just be catching a whiff from a plot a quarter mile away.
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there’s an apartment building right behind me and some kids hang out on their second story balcony smoking weed all night. The vent points right at their balcony. Don’t wanna give them any ideas. Was considering bribing them with a few Oz’s to ignore it.
 
So looking at my AC unit it looks like I can modify it and make it a dual hose. I just need to feed air into the intake on the back of it. My AC sits right next to the dryer exhaust from when this used to be a laundry room. I’ll just build a box out of foam board or something and mount it to the back of the ac. Hook it up to some ducting and feed it to the booster fan I have in the wall. Wire up the fan to kick on with the AC and run it that way. E140A0B2-A2B9-4035-81CF-5DB7A2653DE6.jpeg
 
sf_frankie said:
there’s an apartment building right behind me and some kids hang out on their second story balcony smoking weed all night. The vent points right at their balcony. Don’t wanna give them any ideas. Was considering bribing them with a few Oz’s to ignore it.
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BAD IDEA once kids have a taste they'll keep coming back but Jesus there good money :lol:
 
sf_frankie said:
there’s an apartment building right behind me and some kids hang out on their second story balcony smoking weed all night. The vent points right at their balcony. Don’t wanna give them any ideas. Was considering bribing them with a few Oz’s to ignore it.
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Yeah if theres people that close might be a good idea to eliminate smell as much as possible.
 
So I’ve been in here less than an hour with the AC on and temps are down 10 degrees. If for some reason I decide not to run CO2 and just grow with my setup as is I think I’ll just kill the intake and exhaust fans on the super hot days when I need AC. Maybe set them up to cycle on for a few mins every hour to keep for fresh air. I have a DIY environment control set up using smarts switches and sensors so it won’t be difficult.

I don’t really want to drop $400 on a CO2 generator right now but amazon has some new payment system. Five $65 payments every month. No interest. God dammit! Modifying my exhaust to a scrubber is free and I can rig the AC up for like $20 in materials...
 
sf_frankie said:
So I’ve been in here less than an hour with the AC on and temps are down 10 degrees. If for some reason I decide not to run CO2 and just grow with my setup as is I think I’ll just kill the intake and exhaust fans on the super hot days when I need AC. Maybe set them up to cycle on for a few mins every hour to keep for fresh air. I have a DIY environment control set up using smarts switches and sensors so it won’t be difficult.

I don’t really want to drop $400 on a CO2 generator right now but amazon has some new payment system. Five $65 payments every month. No interest. God dammit! Modifying my exhaust to a scrubber is free and I can rig the AC up for like $20 in materials...
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If you have an exhaust fan you dont really need an intake fan, just an intake port that allows fresh air in. If you tone down your exhaust fan to like a little 4'' or 6'' ac infinity fan running at 1/8 to 1/4 power, you will get enough fresh air for a good grow, remove all the smell, and the ac should be able to keep up with the small amount of air circulation. Use the same filter you were already using, just put a much smaller fan on it and run it at low power.
 
JoeBlow5823 said:
If you have an exhaust fan you dont really need an intake fan, just an intake port that allows fresh air in. If you tone down your exhaust fan to like a little 4'' or 6'' ac infinity fan running at 1/8 to 1/4 power, you will get enough fresh air for a good grow, remove all the smell, and the ac should be able to keep up with the small amount of air circulation. Use the same filter you were already using, just put a much
smaller fan on it and run it at low power.
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I run the intake fan because my intake hole is only 4” so passive would have been a struggle. I guess I could ditch the intake fan and hook it up to the carbon filter.

When I designed and built the room I was going for maximum ventilation. I guess I basically forgot air conditioners don’t work when you’re cycling that much air. Duh. It’s my first time so I’m supposed to fuck up a few things along the way.

If the room is sealed, temp control won’t be as much of an issue. I can adjust my lighting schedule to shut off during the hottest parts of the day. The AC will only need to run at lights out and you don’t run CO2 at “night” anyway.

This thread really has me considering just biting the bullet and adding CO2. I was going to wait until my second run to add CO2 but it almost makes more sense to do it now.
 
Since I have poor impulse control, I went ahead and ordered this bad boy.

3F53FD9B-98B5-4879-9BA4-814F41FD2EA5.jpeg

Temps have definitely calmed down since altering my light schedule. Will be sealing up the room this week so I can install that thing ASAP. I’m going to wait and see how it effects the climate before I grab a new AC and/or a dehumidifier. Unfortunately a minisplit isn’t feasible so I’ll probably lose the single hose AC and grab a dual hose or modify a window unit.

The four burner is a bit oversized for my space so hopefully it will not run as often as a two burner. I plan on adding a small exhaust fan with damper so I can clear the air at night. I’m assuming I’ll need an intake with damper as well? Thoughts?

My 8” can filter and max-fan will run as a scrubber And the small exhaust fan will also run a carbon filter. The small fan and filter should be fine since it’s purpose isn’t changing the air as quickly as possible.
 
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